One Fearless Step
While we continue to strive for greater perspective,
we continue to faithfully take one step at a time.
Over the years, my career has taken some interesting
twists and turns. I had hoped to be in a
different situation regarding my career and financial situation. I have
experienced various periods of success, unemployment or under-employment. There have been multiple times when we
reached the very ends of our means. We
had used almost all of our food storage, all of our savings, and then, at the
last minute, we would get a job. We have
been significantly blessed, over the years, to have survived these financial
troubles without life-altering effects.
So far, we have been able to pay our bills, keep food on the table, and
keep our home. During these times, I
often wondered what lessons we were to learn.
I remember one time in particular, when we were at the very end, I had
the strong feeling like everything was going to be ok. Even when it seemed desperate, I felt reassurance.
I enjoy life. I
like the beauty of the world and the people in it. I like the phrase “enjoy the
journey”. I try to apply that motto most of the time. However, it can sometimes be a challenge. I
think of where I’d hoped to be at this point in my live. I think about the
future. When life is hard, it can sometimes be difficult to enjoy the day to
day journey.
My darling wife Jo, reminds me that Heavenly Father
has looked after us, so we should be grateful and press forward with faith. At
one particularly challenging point in my life, Jo gave me a small ruler with a
saying on it. It said simply, “Muddle
Through”. I have often reflected on that
saying and it as encouraged me to continue pushing forward day to day, even
when I don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel.
We are not always shown
There are times when God doesn’t show us everything to
come and expects us to continue forward.
Sometimes he does show, and sometimes he doesn’t. I believe it depends on what we need to
learn.
Even with his great faith, I think Nephi must have
felt worried as he returned to Jerusalem to get the history of his people. “And
it was by night; and I caused that they should hide themselves without the
walls. And after they had hid themselves, I, Nephi, crept into the city and
went forth towards the house of Laban. And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing
beforehand the things which I should do.” [1] He didn’t know where to go, or what he was
going to do. Heavenly Father did not
show him in advance what he was to do. He only knew what he need to do, but not
how.
I like the example of the Brother of Jared when he was
asked to build his boats. He didn’t know
how to do it, but the Lord gave him instruction. “And it came to pass that the
brother of Jared did go to work, and also his brethren, and built barges after
the manner which they had built, according to the instructions of the Lord.” [2]
But when it came to lighting the boat, the Lord did not tell him what to do,
but asked him, “What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your
vessels?[3]
The Lord could have shown the way, explained what to do, but the Brother of
Jared must have needed to learn something. The Lord asked him a question and he
was forced to think up a solution on his own. I think this was the turning
point for him. He pushed his faith to the point where he became a man of faith
like no other.
There are lots of examples of this principle in the
scriptures: Think of Lehi and his family
wandering in the wilderness until they found the Liahona. Heavenly Father didn’t provide the Liahona at
the beginning of their journey. There are times in our lives when Heavenly
Father will provide direction and there are times when we have to push forward
in faith.
It is during periods of trouble and worry that we have
to trust our Heavenly Father and know that he loves us and is aware of us. We
understand the we do not comprehend His will. “For my thoughts are not your
thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are
higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts
than your thoughts.[4]
One of my favorite hymns is Lead Kindly Light. When I was a missionary in Italy, there were
many times when I read the words to this hymn and trusted that God would show
me just the next step I should take.
Here is a little background around the writing of that
hymn: “As a young priest traveling in Italy in 1833, Englishman John Henry
Newman encountered emotional and physical darkness when illness detained him
there for several weeks. He became deeply discouraged, and a nurse who saw his
tears asked what troubled him. All he could reply was that he was sure God had
work for him to do in England. Aching to return home, he finally found passage
on a small boat.
Not long after the ship set sail, thick fog descended
and obscured the hazardous cliffs surrounding them. Trapped for a week in the
damp, gray darkness, the ship unable to travel forward or back, Newman pled for
his Savior’s help as he penned the words we now know as the hymn “Lead, Kindly
Light.”” Virginia U. Jensen, “‘Lead, Kindly Light’,” Ensign, Nov 2000, 62–63
Lead, Kindly Light
Lead, kindly Light, amid th’encircling gloom;
Lead thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home;
Lead thou me on!
Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene—one step enough for me.
Text: John Henry Newman, 1801–1890
Music: John B. Dykes, 1823–1876
Harold B. Lee would say to his grandson: “Don’t live
too far into the future. Live for today.” He would say, “Survey large fields
and cultivate small ones. Do the good that is right before you.” “Live for
today, and let the Spirit guide you to do the good you can today. Don’t live
too far into the future.” [5]
President Kimball, as president of the Church, concluded
his BYU “Second Century Address” in 1975 with similar thoughts: “It ought to be obvious to you, as it is to
me, that some of the things the Lord would have occur in the second century of
the BYU are hidden from our immediate view. Until we have climbed the hill just
before us, we are not apt to be given a glimpse of what lies beyond. The hills
ahead are higher than we think. This means that accomplishments and further
direction must occur in proper order, after we have done our part. We will not be
transported from point A to point Z without having to pass through the
developmental and demanding experiences of all the points of achievement and
all the milestone markers the lie between!”[6]
So why are we left alone and often sad? Why does not
God do everything for us, or at least show us more so that we can rest
easy?" President Young responded "to act as an independent
being"--to see what we will do, whether we will be "for God or
not"--and in developing our own resources. Such experiences will teach us
to be "righteous in the dark--to be a friend of God" (Brigham Young
Office Journal, 28 January 1857).
To be righteous in the dark, to be faithful when we
feel forsaken and forgotten and alone "amid th' encircling gloom.” This is the challenge we face.
In my professional work, I have often used the phrase,
“happily discontented”. This refers to a
state of being discontent, in that there is more work to be done, improvements
to be made, and goals to achieve. Yet is
also refers to being happy during this process - appreciating where we are at,
the progress made and the good people you work with, etc.
I still feel that I need to do more for my family,
have greater success, and provide more for the financial and spiritual welfare
for my family. Yet, I reflect on the
goals I set when I was a young, unmarried man.
I wanted to have a wonderful, loving wife, a nice and safe home, and to
have happy loving children. I have been blessed with all of these things. While I still worry about my current status
in this mortal life, I am content in the love of my family, my joy in the
gospel, and continue to take small steps of faith along the path that He sets
before me.
If you were to ask yourself a question – “of what am
I most afraid?” you might come up with a few things that are also on my list:
spiders, heights, dark water and things like that. But if you though more deeply in your heart
about the things that are most important, your list might take a more serious
tone. Your list still might include some
of the things on my list, like: Not being able to provide for my family, that I
haven’t taught all of the things to my children that I should have, I fear that
my Heavenly Father or worse, my Heavenly Mother will be disappointed in me. I
fear that my children will be hurt. I
fear being alone. But, there are things that can help me to overcome these
fears. First, think about this
statement:
Desire must overcome fear. Love must drive desire.
I can think of many times when you, my children,
were hurt or in need. Because I love
you, I have the desire to protect you.
That desire drives me to overcome fear.
For example, where there is a spider, I would rather not have to get
it. But, my love for you creates the
desire in me to protect you, and overcomes my fear. In this same light, the fears that stop us,
can be overcome by love. Love must drive
our desires. Those desires can overcome
our fears.
There are additional ways that Heavenly Father help
us overcome fears. These include prayer,
faith, being prepared, and divine support
When I was a child, I knew that if I prayed that
Heavenly Father would help me to not be afraid.
I know that he still comforts me and helps me when I feel fear.
President David O. McKay faced fear when he was
young. “One night [when I was young] … I awoke and soon imagined I could hear
footsteps near the window. … My fears must have been at a pretty high pitch,
for I breathed heavily, and it seemed I could hear my heart thumping. “True to
my mother’s training and the natural yearning of my soul, I sought the Lord in
prayer. To me there was only one way to pray and that was to kneel at the
bedside. It was no small effort to get out of bed and kneel in the dark, but I
did it, and prayed as never before for God’s comfort and protection. Just as I
said ‘Amen,’ I heard a voice say as distinctly as I ever heard a voice in my
life, ‘Don’t be afraid, nothing will hurt you.’ Immediately all fear left me. I
felt comforted at once and crept back to bed to a sweet and peaceful sleep” [7]
Prayer is a key element in helping us overcome our
fears and enabling us to push forward. Heavenly Father has answered my prayers
many times.
Faith is another key element. The stripling warriors had a faith that
enabled them to eliminate even the fear of death. “Now they never had fought, yet they did not
fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they
did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they
did not doubt, God would deliver them.”[8]
“We have
nothing to fear. God is at the helm. He will shower down blessings upon those
who walk in obedience to His commandments”[9]
“I tell you these things because of your prayers; … if
ye are prepared ye shall not fear.”[10]
I know that Divine intervention occurs more
frequently than we can imagine. There
have been multiple times when I know that I have been protected. I know that He sends angels to comfort and
protect, just like he did for Daniel. “My God hath sent his angel, and hath
shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me.”[11] Gordon B. Hinckley stated in one of his
talks, “You have the right to ministering angels about you to protect you.”[12]
Lastly, this is my favorite scripture. It reassures me that Heavenly Father loves me
and will love me forever.
“ And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into
the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be
cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce
winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements
combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape
open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall
give thee experience, and shall be for thy good. The Son of Man hath descended
below them all. Art thou greater than he? Therefore, hold on thy way, and the
priesthood shall remain with thee; for their bounds are set, they cannot pass.
Thy days are known, and thy years shall not be numbered less; therefore, fear
not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever.”[13]
Please know of my undying love for you, each
one. My greatest joy comes from my love
for my wife and secondly from you. I
know that our father in heaven loves us, and loves you, even more than I
do. It is hard for me to imagine that,
but I know that he does. I know that he
will protect and bless you and you push forward one step at a time, faithfully
and fearlessly.
[2]
Book of Mormon, Ether2:16
[3]
Book of Mormon, Ether 2:23
[7] A
Lesson in Faith,” Improvement Era, Aug. 1964, p. 637
[8] Book
of Mormon, Alma 56:47
[9] Conference
Report, Apr. 1995, 93–95.
[10] D&C
38:32
[11]
The Old Testament, Dan. 6:22
[12] Gordon
B. Hinckley, “Overpowering the Goliaths in Our Lives,” Ensign, May 1983, 46
[13]
D&C 122: 7-9